Early Years
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Karl (Charlie) Bachman and Anne (Nancy) Dobrinsky, Bachman is of half German and half Ukrainian ancestry. At age three, he won a singing contest on CKY's King of the Saddle program and age 5 he had started studying the violin in the Royal Toronto Conservatory system. He studied violin until the age of 12 when he grew dissatisfied with the structured lessons. He found that while he couldn't read music, he could play anything if he heard it once; he referred to it as his phonographic memory.
At age 15, Bachman saw Elvis Presley play on Tommy Dorsey's television show and the sight of the guitar around Presley's neck inspired him. He learned three chords from his cousin, then started practicing on a modified Hawaiian dobro. At age 16, Bachman met up with Lenny Breau; over the next two years Breau taught Bachman finger picking and also introduced him to the music of Chet Atkins.
In 1959 Bachman bought a ticket to see Les Paul in concert at a Winnipeg supper club but was unable to get in as he was too young. He instead helped Paul set up before the show and also helped him reload everything into the car after the show. Still a budding guitarist at this point, Bachman asked Paul if he could teach him a guitar lick; Paul ended up teaching his version of "How High the Moon".
Read more about this topic: Randy Bachman
Famous quotes containing the words early years, early and/or years:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“But she is early up and out,
To trim the year or strip its bones;”
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
“I did not enter the Labour Party forty-seven years ago to have our manifesto written by Dr. Mori, Dr. Gallup and Mr. Harris.”
—Tony Benn (b. 1925)